Chapter 14 -Of Heart's Shadow-
-Of Heart's Shadow-
"Come in." Skyfall muttered as he flipped another page of the book he was buried in. He had read it thousands of times, but to him, 'The count of Monte Cristo' was still one of his favorite stories.
Sif sauntered in, wearing the same disinterested look she usually wore. "Shining Armor and that red guard captain are knocking, again."
"Fascinating. Shining probably wants to know where Cadance is and thinks I'm harboring her." Skyfall responded with the same unemotional tone.
"Aren't you?"
"No?" Skyfall threw his hoof up in a questioning manner. "If they're having marital issues, that's their problem."
After a second of silence, the banging on the door echoed up through the house and into the study. "Anything else, Sif?"
Sif looked back and kicked the door behind her shut. "It's been a week since the Diamond Dogs arrived at their new home. So far they seem to be working diligently. They cleared out enough space to live until they can craft themselves a new home."
"And the pony scouts that have been flying around?"
"Storm made the weather around the Everfree more hazardous, so that means no crafted clouds or protection from random tornados, leaving them unable to scout."
"Sounds about right." Skyfall nodded in relief. "Oh, when was the last time I went to Ponyville?"
"I don't know. About a week or two ago." Sif shrugged and opened Sky's study door. "Not sure why, but Fluttershy keeps walking to the front gate and then she just turns around and leaves."
Skyfall memorized his book's page and closed it with a soft thump before setting it down on the table beside him. "Maybe she likes the house. Why bring this up? A lot of ponies do that to see the 'haunted' house."
"I bring her up because every so often she walks into the Everfree, unattended." Sif glanced back. "Ever since that Lonely Graves fellow fell apart in that cave, Timberwolves have dwindled dramatically, but they're still around."
"What is the point you’re trying to make, Sif?"
"Talk to her, tell her to stop." Sif said plainly. "Me and my kin can't be everywhere, so if one day she walks into the forest and we aren't there, then Fate may not be so kind to her."
Deep down, Sky knew Sif was right. "I will talk to her."
Sif nodded and left.
"It's a good thing I don't drink, ‘cause between the foalnappings and random pony adventures, I would have a whisky IV." Skyfall sighed as he reached for his book, but found only the surface of the table.
Sky looked around and found his book had been placed back into the bookshelf. "That's weird, I don't remember shelving my book."
A cold chill settled into the room and a small stream of steam seeped out from Sky's mouth. He got up and refastened his scarf, ready to make the long walk to Fluttershy's cottage.
As Sky reached the door, he felt a presence watching him, and spun around quickly. The side door to his study slammed shut the instant he set eyes upon it.
After a moment, Sky took a deep breath. "Nimbus, are you slamming doors?"
"He's in town." Sif called from the first floor.
"Right." Skyfall said quietly as he backed away from the door and made his way downstairs, past a sneezing Sif. "You okay?"
"Yeah, my nose is running."
Skyfall patted Sif on the head. "Keep your eyes open."
"Why?"
"Reasons." Skyfall left his house and turned back to see the blinds to his study moving ever so slightly.
As Skyfall trotted into Ponyville, he had one destination on his mind, Sugarcube Corner. He needed coffee if he was going to talk his way around trying to prevent Fluttershy from entering his forest. He mused to himself about showing up as Shattered Skies and just telling her that it was a bad idea, but a guard would likely be posted nearby to watch her.
The market was abuzz with the going ons of Ponyville. Sky being as tall as he was, he was instantly recognized. As he made his way through the market, ponies greeted him. He didn't mind that some still kept their distance, but more everyday they seemed to treat him like a normal pony instead of some outsider.
Aside from noticeably chillier weather, the only thing to have changed with Ponyville was a significant increase in guards. Every direction you looked, you could see at least one standing and scanning for possible threats. 'Weird, probably a Celestia solution.'
Skyfall entered Sugarcube Corner, and suffice to say, it was an absolute mess. The line was out the door, the Cakes were rushing to fill orders, both the Cake children were fighting while their newborn was wailing, and Pinkie was cooking so urgently, things were getting burned.
In the corner sat Nimbus, sipping a cup of coffee.
"I see you beat the rush." Nimbus said sarcastically as Sky sat.
"Funny. So this is where you go?"
"More or less. I go to Canterlot sometimes." Nim said, trying to get a rise from Skyfall.
"Looking for a big stallion to sweep you off your hooves?" Skyfall chuckled as two ponies who were eavesdropping in the line reacted to what he said. One stallion coughed haggardly into his hoof while the other blushed and turned away.
"I'm more of a dragoness type of guy." Nimbus winked. "As you know."
Sky tapped his hoof on the table top. "Hey, quick question. Did you notice anything weird going on at the house?"
"No, though I'm guessing from the way you're asking something spooky happened?" Nim drained his cup in one gulp. "You aren't usually jumpy. What happened?"
"Nothing, just small things like misplaced items and doors slamming by themselves." The restaurant turned to silence at the end of his sentence. "Over the past few days, things have been rearranged and cabinets were left open. Just now, when I left my house, the shades moved by themselves."
"Haunted."
"Shut up, it's not haunted." Skyfall sighed and leaned forward. "I think you, me, and Sif would know."
"Whatever you say, bub."
"What are you two talking about?" Pinkie bounced over, her workload now gone as Sugarcube Corner lay empty.
"Sky's house is haunted." Nim said.
"It's not haunted, you boob."
"Am I a giggly boob?" Nimbus asked making Skyfall facepalm.
"You're impossible."
Pinkie Pie clapped her hooves in excitement. "We should have a sleepover at your house and try and talk to it!"
Nimbus and Sky looked at each other, then back to an eager Pinkie.
"That is a horrible idea." Nimbus said bluntly.
Sky opened his mouth to scold Nimbus, but stopped. "Actually, I agree. That's crazy."
Pinkie Pie held her hooves up. "Can't blame a mare for trying."
Skyfall spaced out for a brief moment and was snapped back to reality when he remembered why he left the house. "Right. Pinkie Pie, do you know if Fluttershy is home?"
Pinkie Pie shrugged, inhaled deeply and yelled. "Applejack!"
Sky and Nim covered their ears in response.
"Why are you yelling?" Sky asked, but only found Pinkie pointing towards the door as Applejack strolled in.
"What?" Applejack asked, clearly more than a little frazzled, from what though, no one knew.
"Where's Fluttershy?"
"Schoolhouse." Applejack huffed. "That it?"
"Yup-Yup!"
Without another word, Applejack turned and walked out.
"She okay?" Skyfall asked, gesturing at the door.
"I don't know." Pinkie said. "Applejack gets upset and I learned long ago to let the first few days of her funk ride out before cheering her up. She's always been different from my usual customers."
'I wonder what happened.' Sky looked out the window and saw Applejack at her stall, visibly irritated and miserable. "Well, I have some questions for Fluttershy, so I must be off."
"See ya." Nimbus muttered.
Sky turned to ask Pinkie where the schoolhouse was, but Pinkie cut him off. "It's on the same road you take into Ponyville, just keep left instead of right."
Pinkie giggled as Sky patted her on the head. "Thank you."
Skyfall chuckled to himself when he saw how rustic the schoolhouse was. It made schools over a millennium old look fancy. He saw two parents standing just outside of the building, presumably waiting to pick up their foal. Sky looked a little closer at the pair of ponies and saw that it was his business partner, Silver Coin, and a mare he guessed to be his spouse.
Silver started waving demurely at Sky as he approached. "Good day, Skyfall. I didn't know you had a foal to pick up."
"I don't." Sky said. "I'm here to see someone."
Silver Coin giggled before he waved the blue-green mare forward. "Hunny, this is Skyfall. Sky, this is my wife, Olive. Hun, this is the one who’s giving us the steady supply of business."
Olive smiled. "I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Skyfall. I just never imagined you to be as handsome as my husband says you are."
"Your husband says I'm handsome?" Skyfall realized that it was probably a slip of words and she was just paying him a compliment until he saw Olive nodding. "Well, I'm flattered. Are you here for Silver Spoon?"
"Yep, we're picking her up early. We're going to Canterlot over the weekend to see family." Coin said. "Who are you here for?"
"Fluttershy, I have to discuss something with her." Sky rose an eyebrow at Coin's winking. "Is there something in your eye?"
Coin sighed. "Well? Are you talking to her, or are you talking to her?"
"Just talking, Coin."
"You should find somepony, Sky. Living on the outskirts of town promiscuously rooming with a mare like Crescent is good for a romp from time to time, but you should settle down." Coin said to the approval of his wife.
"You think Sif and I are just living by the forest screwing all day long?" Sky asked.
"Sif?"
Skyfall shrugged. "That's her real name, but since there is a Spirit scare with a companion of the same name she thought it was best to avoid giving ponies the wrong idea. You see why?"
"We don't choose the name we’re born with." Coin nodded showing he accepted the excuse. "But back to you and that mare of yours."
"Oh no, look at the sundial, I gotta go." Skyfall backed away from the skulking stallion that was about to force him into another lecture about promiscuity and the values of being a family stallion, but Sky turned and trotted for the schoolhouse door and quickly walked inside to a stunned class before he sat down in front of the door, effectively blocking it from opening for the flamboyant stallion. "Sorry, ignore me, I'm here for the knowledge."
Cheerilee shushed her giggling class as Fluttershy stuttered and shook her head clear from the scare of Sky’s abrupt entry.
"Now canaries sing to talk to each other, but in the past they were used to warn of impending danger." Fluttershy talked about the history of canaries and their use in society and their roles now. She was well learned in the history and care of many animals, or so she portrayed to be. Sky sat by and idly watched until Cheerilee announced recess.
"Thank you for the lesson, Fluttershy." Cheerilee said. "I know the foals enjoyed it."
"Oh, it was no problem at all, Cheerilee. I love talking about animals and their care." Fluttershy chirped. "It feels good to have some fun after all the stuff going on."
"I would imagine." Cheerilee patted Fluttershy on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper.
Sky was shaken from his trance by an impatient Apple Bloom.
"You're in the way."
"Huh?"
"The door, it's recess." Apple Bloom pointed.
"Whoops, sorry." Sky moved as he returned his gaze to the two mares and found that they were still deep in a quiet conversation, every few second one of them would glance his way. 'Must be serious.'
"Mr. Skyfall, could you watch the foals?" Cheerilee called. "Fluttershy and I need a moment."
"No we don't." Fluttershy nervously interjected.
Sky smiled. "Sure, no problem."
It took no longer than the time for Sky to step outside for the foals to notice they were being watched by somepony other than Ms. Cheerilee.
"Buttons, stop!" A British voice called. Pipsqueak trotted next to Button’s, trying to stop him.
"Nope." Buttons replied.
"We were told not to ask." Pipsqueak warned. "We'll get in trouble."
"I don't care, I'm tired of not knowing." Button stomped over to Skyfall.
Sky looked down to the small colt as he mustered his strongest glare. "Yes?"
"I need you to tell me some stuff!" Button said a little too loudly.
Skyfall gave Button a wry look. "Okay?"
"Really?" Button Mash asked in surprise.
"At a price." Skyfall started laughing when Buttons lost his balance.
"Not fair!" Pipsqueak said, backing up his friend.
"No such thing as a free lunch kid."
Button held up a hoof to stop Pipsqueak. "What's your price?"
"Oh, such a serious colt." Skyfall tapped his chin. "Well, it depends on what you want to know. I can answer a lot so I'll just take a week's allowance, anything with the 'birds and the bees' will cost you extra."
"What about information about Shattered Skies." Buttons asked, drawing the attention of the entire playground.
Skyfall rubbed the bridge of his nose, he wanted to answer questions about himself to set the record straight, but too much information and it could end up coming back to bite him later. "And what exactly do you want to know about the Forest Spirit?"
The foals started to form a group around Skyfall, murmuring to themselves.
"I want to talk to him."
Skyfall chuckled. "I don't think he has an address, but I read that if you call for him in a forest he will find you."
"Really?" Apple Bloom asked.
Skyfall shrugged. "It's what I read."
"I heard he steals souls!" Snips said. "My mom used to tell me that when I was younger."
'Great.' Sky thought. "Don't believe everything you hear." Sky turned back to Buttons. "Anything else?"
"Why are we not able to talk about him?" Buttons adopted a very serious look. His questions were far beyond that of what a foal his age should be asking, but Sky looked past this and chose to answer.
"That is a question I've been asking myself for the past few months." Sky said solemnly.
"Well, he is kinda scary." Sweetie Belle said. "When he came for us, I was still scared of him and the way his voice sounds."
The foals started to talk among themselves, discussing the things they've heard and the stories they were told. Diamond Tiara of all ponies spoke up. "Maybe it's fear."
"Well, duh it's fear." Snails said. "He eats ponies."
"That's not what I meant you dolt." Diamond snipped. "I meant that we hear bad things and we have the wrong idea. Has he eaten anypony since he arrived?"
"There was that caravan that went missing." Snails said and shied away from the looks. "My dad was freaking out about it."
"Yeah, Ah say we talk to him!" Apple Bloom said.
Earlier
"I can't thank you enough for coming by, Fluttershy." Cheerilee said. "It's hard to get a pony to come in and share their educational experiences."
"Oh, it's no problem. Is it really that hard to find a pony to come in and talk about different jobs?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes, I worry the foals won't know what to do with their lives once they make it out there on their own." Cheerilee confessed and moved to her desk. "I've had guards and a few of the residents come in and talk about themselves, but even then that is a limited selection."
"What about Skyfall?"
"What about him?" Cheerilee asked curiously.
"He told me he's done a lot of jobs. Why don't you ask him?" Fluttershy said absentmindedly. "He says he needs stuff to do."
"Maybe I should ask to see if he's qualified." Cheerilee brushed her hair with a hoof and sighed. After a moment, she looked at Fluttershy and gave her a questioning look. "So do you like him?"
"W-What?" Fluttershy asked.
"Don't play coy." Cheerilee playfully pushed Fluttershy's shoulder. "I see the way he looks at you."
"Oh no, we're just friends." Fluttershy smiled."Plus, I heard Princess Cadance gossiping to Rarity and saying that he wasn't interested in having a relationship."
Cheerilee smirked. "I wasn't talking about a relationship."
"What?"
"Oh come on, Fluttershy." Cheerilee winked. "As if you haven't thought about it."
Fluttershy shied away and hid behind her hair. "About what?"
"About waking up in those strong hooves of his." Cheerilee opened the blinds to find Skyfall being tied up by the foals.
Fluttershy chuckled into her hoof. "I believe it's time we go save him."
"Put him down!" Cheerilee ordered as she stormed out of the schoolhouse.
"But, Ms. Cheerilee, we have to sacrifice him." Apple Bloom defended and thrusted her hoof at Skyfall. "He agreed to be our sacrifice and to submit himself to our cleansing rituals."
"No I didn't!"
"Yes ya did!"
"No, you asked if I would accept being an offering and I refused to answer." Skyfall deadpanned to the tribal painted filly.
"Well, ya didn't say no, absence is consempt!"
"Consent." Sweetie Belle corrected.
"Right!"
"Class, I'm sure Mr. Skyfall has things to do." Cheerilee chided. "You put him down now so he can go."
The class let out a collective 'aw' as they released their captive sacrifice. While the foals were untying him, Skyfall caught a glimpse of a bruise under Scootaloo's wing, causing him to momentarily grab her hoof. She saw where he was looking and her embarrassed scowling told him not to ask.
"It was nice seeing you again, Skyfall. Especially since no one was in danger." Cheerilee said.
"This time." Skyfall joked. "I have a habit of falling into interesting situations."
"So Fluttershy tells
me." Cheerilee said much to Sky's curiosity. Cheerilee looked at her class. "Go inside and open up your textbooks to page 102." After the cacophony of groans, she looked back to Skyfall. "I'll be blunt, Mr. Skyfall-"
"Just Sky is fine." Skyfall corrected.
"I'll be blunt, Sky, I need a pony to come in and share their life experiences with my class and give them ideas for their future that span beyond 'do what your cutie mark tells you.' It has been near impossible to achieve that with the stock of ponies in Ponyville."
Skyfall looked at Fluttershy who shied away. 'It would seem even Fluttershy isn’t immune to gossiping.'
Cheerilee took a deep breath. "I was hoping you would come in and talk to my class about your life."
After a long silence, Skyfall sat down slowly. "I've lived most of my life in other countries, Cheerilee. I don't think your school board would appreciate me sharing the views and customs of other nations. Put frankly, I think you would end up in hot water."
Cheerilee giggled to herself. "Then it's a good thing my education budget comes from the mayor and not the school board. The board doesn't have to find out. I just want my foals to learn from something other than a textbook."
'This could be a good thing.'
"What do you think?" Cheerilee asked.
"It's admirable." Skyfall said. "Like you, I share a love of education, and I am more than willing to share my knowledge... but-"
"There's always a 'but.'" Cheerilee looked at the ground with a defeated expression. "We don't have much money to pay you, but I can-" Cheerilee was cut off by a hoof held up to her face.
When Cheerilee looked up, she saw Skyfall shaking his head. "Money, I have. My condition is that we will hold class at my estate, and not-" Skyfall gestured at the old schoolhouse. "-that. Whatever that is."
"D-Deal." Cheerilee sputtered out. "I'll just need to get the foals to get permission slips signed by their parents."
"Awesome." Skyfall looked at Fluttershy. "Next order of business. Do you have time to talk Fluttershy?"
"Y-Yes." Fluttershy said shyly.
"Wonderful. Have a good day, Cheerilee." Skyfall waved at the schoolteacher as she rushed inside after hearing some crashing coming from the classroom.
Skyfall turned his attention to Fluttershy and whispered. "Thank you for the assist, I was afraid I was going to be sacrificed."
Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, no worries. The foals try doing that to everypony that comes around."
'I see why Cheerilee has a hard time getting ponies to come by.' Skyfall thought and looked back to see the class at the window staring at their sacrifice walking away.
"So, what was it you had to ask me?"
Sky looked at Fluttershy, trying to figure out the easiest way of going about it. Luckily, she picked up on subtlety really well. "I dropped by your house the other day to see if you wanted to go to lunch."
"Oh?" Fluttershy looked surprised. "What day?"
"Tuesday at two." Skyfall said. "But I saw somepony walking into the forest from your house. I've seen this pony in the treeline a lot lately. Do you know who it is?"
"Oh." Fluttershy said quietly. "Please don't tell the others."
Skyfall stopped and turned to face Fluttershy fully. "Your business is yours, Fluttershy. I'm just a little concerned. Why are you walking into the Everfree when you know it's dangerous?"
Fluttershy shuffled her hooves in silence. "I..."
Sky lowered his head to make eye contact with Fluttershy. "I won't judge."
Fluttershy, in a bout of bravery, inhaled sharply and started talking quickly. "The forest isn't as dangerous lately and I wanted to meet some new friends and I like walking in the forest because it helps me clear my mind and calm down-"
Skyfall put his hoof on Fluttershy's nose to make her stop rambling. "Yes, but you know you’re at a far greater risk for being an Element."
"I-I know, I just..." Fluttershy whispered.
Skyfall remembered that Fluttershy was on the task force to hunt him down, and this was an invaluable opportunity. "Aren't you on that task force to hunt down the same Spirit that owns the forest?"
"How did you know?"
"Ponies gossip." Sky recovered swiftly.
Fluttershy winced a little. "We are, but after we saw him recently, I get the feeling we're just a nuisance to him." She looked at the forest. "I wouldn't mind talking with him, I'm sure he could tell me so much about animals that it could revolutionize the veterinary field."
Skyfall silently agreed with her, but interaction could put either of them in grave danger. She would be viewed as a defector and he could be lured into a false sense of security. "I just don't want you getting in over your head, Fluttershy."
Skyfall walked with Fluttershy into town. "So, where to?"
"Mayor's office, we're having a meeting for the new guard posts being built. Where are you going?"
"Mayor's office, I have to look up old documents for the ghost in my house." Skyfall said amusingly.
"Gh-Ghost?"
"Weird occurrences that can't be explained." Skyfall said cheerfully. "Doors slamming, things flying from here to there with no reasonable explanation as to why. Stuff like that."
"And you're okay with that?" Fluttershy asked.
"I could talk all day about some of the crazy stuff that's happened to me." Skyfall said monotonously. "It takes a lot to genuinely freak me out, so I'll try and find a solution."
"A lot of stuff happens to you?"
"Oh yeah."
"Like what?" Fluttershy asked, seemingly curious about Skyfall's life.
Fluttershy and Sky reached Ponyville before either of them realized it. Fluttershy hadn't said much because she was listening to everything Skyfall had to say. He told her of the time he sailed around the Dragon seas, but like always, Skyfall had to change around the details to keep his identity confidential.
"So what ever happened to Bones?" Fluttershy asked, wanting to know more about his time as a ship captain.
"Not sure. He probably took his ship and sailed away. He always had a knack for showing up to the least appropriate situations, like a wedding." Skyfall chuckled. "He always finds himself behind bars, so he may have fallen behind a pair that doesn't open with any tricks."
Skyfall looked up and Rarity huffed as she passed him. "What's her problem?"
"I should go talk to her." Fluttershy said. "I'll see you later?"
"Sure." Skyfall smiled as his golden coated friend flew away. 'She's a nice mare.'
The Mayor's office had a large collection of ponies outside of it. It would take at least two hours to be seen. Sky looked for a guard or anyone to ask. Luckily, Twilight Sparkle was there, seemingly discussing a matter of importance with a large red stallion that wasn't Big Mac.
Sky coughed into his hoof. "Twilight, I need your help real quick."
"And there he is." Twilight said, a fake smile adorning her face.
"Yes, here I am. Can you point me in the direction of the town's records?"
"Yes, but first." Twilight tried stepping aside, but was lightly pushed.
"I'm Captain Fury, the new captain of the royal guard." Fury said curtly. "I have been looking for you, Mr. Skyfall."
Sky squinted before it dawned on him. "You're the stallion that bangs on my door nonstop."
Fury scowled.
Skyfall rolled his eyes. "I know Twilight told you I like my privacy."
Twilight stuck her tongue out at Fury.
"Nevertheless." Fury boomed. "I need to talk to you regarding an important position."
"Sorry, fella. Wrong team." Skyfall said comically. The joke flew over Twilight's head, but Fury lived up to his namesake and was visibly upset. Why Celestia wanted an officer with such an uncontrollable attitude escaped Skyfall.
"Sir, I would appreciate you keeping jokes to a minimum." Fury said. "Upon closer inspection of the ponies in Ponyville and a recommendation from Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia wants you to
Lead the Ponyville guard unit."
"Absolutely-" Sky started.
Twilight smiled. "Excellent, I'll need you to fill in these info-"
"-not." Sky finished. "I've said it before. I am retired. No fighting, no politics, no subterfuge, and no paperwork. All I do now is swim, drink tea, read, eat unhealthy food, and a lot of sleeping past noon."
Fury sighed. "Sir, I know a fellow warrior when I see one. I know you'll join, it's why you charged into the Everfree twice without thinking about your personal safety and why you train on your estate before the sun even rises. You miss it and you're trying to convince yourself otherwise."
Skyfall bit his lip, was he right?
Captain Fury smiled and donned his helmet. "Princess, we need to assemble schedules for the militia." Fury nodded at Sky. "Sir."
Fury marched out of the building leaving a confused Twilight and a stone-like Skyfall. "I guess I'll see you around, Sky."
Twilight turned to leave and then turned around again. "Skyfall?"
"Yeah?"
"This might seem random, but do you like Cadance?" Twilight asked cryptically.
"Yeah, she's a nice mare. Drinks all my tea and talks my ear off, but nice." Skyfall said. "I hope she and I can remain friends even after she returns home."
Twilight's mood visibly improved before trotting out the door. "Bye, Sky!"
'These ponies...'
"Why can't I sense anything?" Sif asked herself as she stood completely rigid on the back of the couch, her hooves balancing her on the end table. She stepped outside for a brief moment and when she returned, all of the cabinets in the kitchen were wide open.
Sif walked slowly to the basement and found that it too has been rummaged through. She found and swallowed her potion which allowed her to transform back into a mother wolf so that she could use her sense smell better. She sighed in relief and stepped into the large foyer where she took a deep whiff of the house.
"What?" Sif looked around sharply. "I smell Skies, but he's in Ponyville..."
A sudden bout of stomping and crashing was heard upstairs before the creaking of a door was heard.
"Nope." Sif grabbed another transformation potion and sprinted out of the door toward Ponyville. She refused to stay in a house that was haunted.
Skyfall snuck past a staff-only door. He wasn't in the mood to wait in line to receive a platonic apology before being rejected. With little effort, he found the filing cabinet that held the housing histories of the town and after a few flips through the files, he found the folder for his estate wedged in the back. It was rebranded 'Skyfall' estate, but it was originally the 'De Cerulean' estate. The history of the estate’s ownership was surprisingly extensive. There were at least thirty different owners before Sky. Every report, ghost sighting, and demolition request laid inside with some papers torn and jutting out of the side.
A quick peek around revealed that no one was monitoring Sky as he searched the records. Chances were that he wouldn't be able to borrow them because they were supposed to be confidential, so he quickly placed the folder in his saddle bags and left. He chuckled to himself and mustered a country accent. "What momma don't know won't hurt her."
Skyfall stepped out of the restricted hallway walking backwards. He had been in enough restricted sections to know how to get off free.
"A ninja, you are not."
"Huh?" Skyfall asked and looked back to find a guard staring at him. "I wasn't doing anything."
"Don't lie to me, I saw you sneaking towards the staff only door." The guard accused.
"I was looking for a bathroom." Skyfall smiled sheepishly, to which the guard only rolled his eyes and pointed down the hall. "Thanks!"
Sky quickly trotted past the bathroom and out the front door, ignoring the guard's scoff as he left.
"Skyfall!" Called Derpy from behind.
With such a distinctive voice among the ponies in town, Derpy was far too easy to pick out in a crowd. She was flying around and appeared to be looking for him.
Sky inhaled deeply and gave a loud, sharp whistle and a wave.
"There you are." Derpy wobbled as she landed in front of Sky. "Sif is looking for you."
"She must be if you know her actual name." Sky mused.
"Yes, she told me to tell you that." Derpy smiled wide. "I forgot where she said she was going. I'm sorry."
Sky saw Derpy's attitude turn a little blue so he patted her mane. "It's okay, accompany me on my way to find her and I'll call it even."
Derpy smiled and nodded, following Sky shortly after he continued walking.
"So how has your day been?" Derpy asked.
"Oh, it's been okay. My house may actually be haunted." Skyfall said absentmindedly as he looked around for the brazen, white firecracker that was Sif. "How is yours?"
Derpy smiled and completely ignored the statement regarding a haunting. "It was bad to begin with. I forgot to make my daughter's lunch so I had to rush to do that and I was late to work. We received a lot of mail for Trottingham due to a clerical error so now I have to spend one of my nights this week to fix it all. Then for lunch I tripped and dropped my sandwich in a puddle of mud right after I stubbed my hoof. Then I spilled ink all over a customer and she threatened to have my job right before Sif came in looking for you."
Sky stopped and gave Derpy a sorrowful look. "I'm sorry you're having such a bad day."
"Don't be." Derpy said flippantly. "At the end of the day I have me and Dinky. I let everything roll off my back. If you can't change something, then there is no point in worrying about it."
"That's surprisingly wise." Sky swayed closer and nudged Derpy. "You know, if you ever need help or a foal sitter, I'm more than willing to help. And don’t worry about Sif. She acts tough, but she's really a softy underneath it all."
"Thank you." Derpy said.
"Hey, no problem." Sky replied enthusiastically and found a hoof on his arm.
Derpy wore an uncharacteristically solemn face."No, really. Thank you, it means a lot."
Sky patted her on the head once more before he turned and walked into the only spa in town.
"Oh, greetings. A spa for two?" A blue mare asked, her foreign accent ringing in the air.
"No, I'm actually looking for a white mare. Is she here?" Sky asked. If Sif wasn't there, then he would have to search the forest for her. If it was that urgent, then she wouldn't have left a message with Derpy.
"Why yes, she is in the mud bath."
"Of course that mutt is rolling in mud." Sky sighed under his breath. "May I go and get something from her?"
"Yes, but please be quiet for the ponies relaxing." The blue mare clopped her hooves and disappeared behind an employee's door behind her. "Right through the hallway in front of you."
A nervous shuffling sound stirred Skyfall and when he looked back, he saw Derpy looking around with an uneasy look on her face. "Are you okay?"
"I don't like coming in here."
"Bad experience?" Sky sighed as she nodded. "You don't have to come in if you don't want to."
"N-No, I want to." Derpy looked around, obviously conflicted about the business.
Sky smiled and nudged her with his wing. "Then let's go. If you behave, I'll treat you and Dinky to a 'dinner when you want' card."
Derpy's mouth hung open and she shook her fear and stepped towards the hall.
"You ponies." Skyfall chuckled as he passed a now happy Pegasus. As he walked closer to the mouth of the hall, he could hear Sif's voice and a few giggles. Curious, he stopped just behind the curtain blocking the opening and listened.
"...and that's when he opened the door to find you and Twilight staring at him." Sif laughed. "You both thought we were doing something sexual."
Twilight gave an exasperated expression. "Well, yeah. He said something about pinning you down and making you scream in the sheets, then about him being on top."
Sif gave a hearty laugh. "He has a nice bed and we fight for it. The top is the winner. Though he is really strong and I have to make dirty moves to win."
"Oh my." Fluttershy said.
"Darling, that sounds..." Rarity started, but went off in a different direction. "So you and him never..."
"We never..?" Sif prodded.
Sky peaked around the curtain and found the Elements and a few other mares surrounding Sif on all sides as they rested in the spa. ‘Emergency task force meeting, my butt.’
"You know." Rarity said shyly.
Applejack sighed. "What she means ta say is, have ya bucked? Rolled in the hay? Sealed the deal? Treated yer flank as a paddle board? Rode that pony for the whole rodeo? Swallow-"
"Applejack!" Rarity scolded.
"What? Ya were thinkin' it." Applejack laughed.
Sif smirked and ignored the question. "If you're that eager to find out, why don't you ask him out for a date?"
"A lady doesn't pursue a stallion in such a manner." Rarity scoffed to the resounding laughter of the room.
Sif, however, wasn't asking Rarity, she looked at Fluttershy making it clear to her who she was talking too.
"Sif?" Twilight asked.
"Hm?"
"I thought Skyfall said he wasn't interested in dating." Twilight asked, still holding on to the secret about Skyfall's family and their suspected murder.
"He probably likes stallions." Rainbow said, expecting approval by the mares in the room. Instead, her awkward comment was rewarded with silence.
Sif looked at Twilight and made a few circles in the mud with her hoof. "He just needs a good mare to find love and solace in. I've known him for a long time and I am well aware of how attractive he is and it has made him cynical."
The lights in the room turned off, making all the ponies stand absolutely still except Sif who knew exactly who was there and where he was.
"I prefer conceited." Skyfall said right before Derpy turned the lights back on from behind the curtain.
"Skyfall!" a few of the ponies said in surprise.
"Yes, I heard there was a wonderful strategy meeting happening at the spa so I decided I needed to make an appearance." Skyfall said, slightly harsher than he intended. "Sif, I got what I needed, we need to go."
"Right." Sif groaned as she exited the mud and shook herself clean. "I'm not sleeping in that house ‘till it's gone."
Twilight looked perplexed. "If you don't mind, what are you talking about?"
Skyfall gave a small look of contempt at Twilight and everyone else present, making it very clear he didn't appreciate the gossiping of his love life. "Ghost."
"W-What?" Twilight rubbed her ears. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right."
"There is a ghost wrecking my study."
"House, actually." Sif said, making Sky whip around.
"What?"
"Yeah, before I left it opened everything in the kitchen and furniture started to move around and the faucets turned on by themselves." Sif shivered.
Sky ran his hoof over his nose in annoyance.
"Where is he?" Cadance asked as she walked around the outside of Sky's house. The light sound of a waterfall could be heard in the distance. She had seen it before, but never took the chance to go for a swim.
Suddenly, she saw a white wolf walk out of the forest, and in through the cascading waterfall.
"I wonder."
Huh, finally got featured and nothing except the amount of dislikes increased. Not the way I expected that to go. Anyway, as long as the story remains in good standing I'll continue to love writing. Broke the 100k word milestone. Sweet, should I do something special?
Like/Comment if ya wanna, more feedback helps me write and likes help me stay motivated. ;)
We love ya 
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There is only a few story's that I truly love, this story has made it to second place right behind changing views. Keep up this amazing piece of fan made literature.
7037296 Comments like this legitimately make me happy. Thank you for taking the time to compliment the story.
Next chapter better be soon then.
Make an exceptionally long chapter. Or 2 chapters in 1 day. That would be a wonderful surprise.
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I try and get them out on time, but y'know, life. Next two chapters are set up for Chapter 17.
Hopefully they should be out on time.
The amount of likes for this story is awfully low, I dont understand why, its great.
I most say this story became much better after the rewrite, not all storys do that. I never thought about the old spiritproblem that showed up in the old version but reading this it was a glaring flaw. But the fun thing is, I liked the original and here we have 100k words NEW improved entertainment.
Cliffhanger ,,, naah you never left the cliffs edge. The 3 last chapters have been sort of a very long cliff hanger. I seem to remember Cady walking up to sky saying we need to talk and then epic cliff hanger. I was confused ath first when reading the next chapter before realising it all happend before the last one (or was that something else?).
But after understanding (I hope) it was the events leading up to that confrontation, I had no probleme with it.
Well I was gonna get set for bed. But then this update showed up... yeah, sleep can wait...
Really liking the ninja stalker Cadance, curious just how much she'll figure out before Sky catches her.
Curious about what exactly is happening with Scoots too, and how Sky will end up helping her. Getting kinda worried about her situation and how it seems she may be a victim of abuse. Nice job of crafting that bit with subtlety and getting the audience invested.
YAY FLUTTERSHY IS GETTING MORE AND MORE INVOLVED!!
7037539 Just read this in one sitting in about 2 hours.
Good story 9/10
-1 for not being longer
All I can do is beg for more story7037556
I'm thinking Time Travel, which would explain the Ghost thing.
2.bp.blogspot.com/-wh4c6dw4u9Q/UakNKxTGmxI/AAAAAAAAR7I/IhiXdVdvI8s/s640/i+came+(8).jpg
Please no more. My boner can only get so big.
I love this story.
I'll bet she finds everything and she remembers.
Still prefer the original, but meh you're still crafting a wonderful story. Seems that the featuring dislikes were just salty arseholes, so just ignore them especially if they haven't left any form of feedback whatsoever XD
I can't help but feel there is a word missing out of this somehow.
And so another story, Grammar404 caught on! It's 1:30 am here and I didn't even noticed it! I am hungry for more!
You know it would be fun to hink that cadnece might be Skies' daughter. I mean, she's pegasus at birth. Crystal being pregant, a mysterious effigy which we do not know what its capable of, and a pink pegasus found by a pair of earth ponies.
I really can't wait for more, but it is a bad habit to pressure an author. Quality than quantity.
I wish you the best!
This is getting better and better.
Cutie Mark Crusaders Cannibals! Yay!
Well, that can't be good.
7044446
Or it could be the best. The bit with Cadance on the train ride makes me think that she knows a lot more about the real Shattered Skies than she wants anyone around her to realise.
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Could you point out the part you're referring to? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean there.
7047801
From the very end of chapter 6:
Granted, since the journal has Celestia's cutie mark on it, it might be bad, but given the way she talks about him, that smile at the end, and her relation to the Crystal Empire, it seems much more likely that she's not looking for him for the same reasons Celestia is.
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Mh, good catch. I had completely forgotten about that part. Given the personal contact he's had with the Crystal Empire and Sombra, that actually could be a clue she knows more than she lets on.
7047837
Well, to be fair, I did cheat a little bit. I just read the whole story this morning.
7048773 Yes! +10 you got the reference. XD
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7047821
If Arctikfox is keeping along the same lines as he did before the rewrite, you're both in for a nice surprise with regards to the relationship between Shattered Skies and Cadance
7053201
My current bet is that Cadance is somehow his daughter.
I demand MOARRR!!!!!
Please
Really love this story
The tiniest, wee-est, most inconsequential part of me is screaming "DERPY AND SKYFALL SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
I don't think that's where you are going but this story has pulled things like that before, so, I'll be watching.
*Disclaimer: I have nothing against this pairing, or any of your pairings. I am just observing how they develop. While holding popcorn. And other such edibles.
7047821 I'm going with my theory that he's Tia's ex, she is still going psycho-ex on him a thousand years later, and Cadence knows EVERYTHING...I just hope I find out before I run out of chapters to read in this one :p
7236534 I'm actually 90% certain that Cadance is actually Sky's daughter and Celestia knows this but because of whatever grudge is happening, keeps that to herself.
7062429 And Dots. Don't forget the Dots.
Been re-reading the chapters and-
Someone save her please T~T
So far I've been really enjoying the story, but a few things bother me.
One being oddly placed coincidences or general things done with no real explanations to them. Things keep popping out that was never mentioned before when they were more relevant to earlier points in the story or timeline.
7745619 He will. :3
Seriously?
Should have been rebranded as the "Skyfall Lodge".
Cookie to anyone who gets that reference.
I'm happy that, despite no main or secondary male characters being attracted to other males "onscreen", so to speak(so far), it's at least acknowledged that it's possible.
Too many fics that have a side of romance like to just go "What, gay ponies? What are those? Never heard of that before, no sir! Straight ponies only in this fic!"
I guess it's just easier for some writers to just ignore that whole thing? I dunno.
Uh...I was under the impression this was maybe 5 years after the show, not 15-20. Or that you shipped Pound and Pumpkin Cake.
8628345
I think they meant the cakes had a third kid. And their newborn is referring to the cakes (the parents)
That's a dangerous sentence for a child to know 😥
Wait? Yoda?